Monday, February 18, 2013

The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition is active in working
with businesses to ensure that they are aware of the Iowa law as it relates to the sale of
alcohol. They provide a variety of resources and assistance to any businesses
in Van Buren County, these resources include materials, trainings, and
assistance with policy change. The coalition also works closely with the Iowa
Alcoholic and Beverages division to ensure that all license regulations are
being met by license holders. Services are FREE and are provided at your
convenience.

MERCHANT ALCOHOL TRAINING

·FREE to All
Businesses in Van Buren County

·How to properly
check an ID

·Examples of fake and
authentic forms of identification

·Conveniently
located– within the county or at your place of business

·“Could” lower your
dram insurance*

·Information on
semi-annual compliance checks

·All Businesses and
employees completing the merchant training will receive certificates of
completion valid for two years.

*Each
insurance provider has their own policies– you need to check with your
insurance provider to determine the discount, if any.

FREE MATERIALS

·Manager Training
Binders

·“We Card” Calendars,
Stickers, Door Clings, Window Clings

·ID card tip sheet

·Laminated reference
sheets

·Current laws and
fines– updated information on current Iowa Laws

·Fact Sheets

·Examples of fake and
authentic forms of identification

·Resources for
identification checking machines

·Need something? Just
ask– we can probably get it!

POLICY CHANGES

·Ensure that the
patrons you areserving and selling
alcohol to are of legal age

·The SAFE Coalition
can assist in:

oWriting policies for
minors in establishments that serve alcohol

oProviding signage to
ensure the policies are followed

oTraining of the
policies with all employees of the establishment

oDeveloping policies
for underage drinking issues

Want more information on
these or any of our services? Contact us
at 319-293-6412 or at info@vbsafecoalition.com
or check us out on the web at www.vbsafecoalition.com.To sign up for the quarterly Merchant Circle publication provided by the coalition
please email info@vbsafecoalition.com and request a copy today!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Tobacco products like everything else
are changing all the time and as parents, staff and adults in general it is
hard to keep up with the changes and products that youth are being exposed to.

Why are these products a problem? One
reason is that they are causing problems with education, students who use
tobacco are absent from school more frequently.
Another reason is that these products are getting into the hands of the
wrong people. The poison control centers have documented dissolvable tobacco
products as the source of nicotine overdose in children and there are countless
e-cigarettes, snus and dissolvable tobacco products that come in a variety of
flavors, targeting a younger population.

So what are these products?

Dissolvable Tobacco products include
items like Orbs, Strips and Sticks.

Orbs
contain the same amount of nicotine as one cigarette. This product dissolves in your mouth within
10-15 minutes and the ingestion of 11-14 orbs could be fatal to a small child.

Strips
are a product that looks similar to a melt away breath freshener. They dissolve in your mouth within 2-3
minutes and a single strip contains roughly the same amount of nicotine as one
cigarette.

Sticks
resemble a toothpick and take 20-25 minutes to dissolve in your mouth. These are meant to be used much like a
toothpick, or you can break off a small piece and place it between your lip and
gums. Containing three times more
nicotine than a cigarette, this product could be fatal to an infant or child if
ingested.

Other Tobacco Products to be aware of
are:

Hookah
which is when smoke is filtered through a bowl of water and then drawn through
a rubber hose to a mouthpiece where it is inhaled. Hookah contains 36 times more tar, 1.7 times
more nicotine and 8.4 times more carbon monoxide than cigarettes.

E-Cigarettes
are electronic cigarettes that according to the FDA are a device that allows
users to inhale a vapor containing nicotine.
There is currently no scientific evidence establishing the safety of
e-cigarettes.

Be aware of the products youth are
exposed to and ask questions of your teen about use. This will help make sure these products don’t get in the wrong hands!

For more information on these
unregulated tobacco products please feel free to visit the SAFE Coalition
information table at the Van Buren Parent Teachers conferences. These will be
held February 18-21, 2013 at both the high school and elementary school. Please
check with the school for exact dates and times at each center. Ready to Quit or know someone who does want
to quit? Iowa Quitline can help!
1-800-Quit-Now (1-800-784-8669).

The week of January 28th – February 3rd,
2013 was National Drug Facts Week and the Van Buren Youth Leadership Council
(YLC) members were very busy with activities.

Starting off the week the High School YLC members
held a “Tag it” event.During the event
students “Tagged” things they were above.Some of the things the students were above were: bullying, alcohol,
drugs, tobacco, littering, being raciest and many other things.

The High School YLC members also setup color days
where the students were to wear different colors representing different
meanings.Monday – White = purity;
Tuesday – Blue = alcohol free; Wednesday – Red = Drugs are dangerous; Thursday
– Orange = Healthy/Drug Free and Friday – Black = Death.

A new event the students wanted to try was a “Flash
Mob”.On Tuesday night at the boys
varsity basketball game the High School YLC members held a “Flash Mob” during
the half time of the game, which will be available to view on the SAFE
Coalition’s Blog (http://vbsafecoalition.blogspot.com/) later next week.The rap that was used for the “Flash Mob” was
written and sung by some of the High School members, Abby Rider was the one who
coordinated the music presentation.

The high school members also handed out “Shatter the
Myths” booklets to the middle school students during lunch time at the school.These booklets are full of drug facts and
information.Cassie Johnson helped to
create a display for the display case in the gym lobby with facts, pictures and
information.

The middle school YLC members were also busy during
the week. They made and hung posters around the school about National Drug
Facts week.They also made NDFW buttons
and handed them out to the middle school students to wear during the week.